Biographical Info
 AP |
Age: 55
Additional Info: Firefigher Arnie Wolff was a 17-year veteran of the Green Bay Fire Department. He is survived by his wife and three children.
Incident Details
Cause of Death: Wolff died from injuries sustained while battling a fire.
Date of Incident: August 13, 2006
Wis. firefighter killed when floor drops out beneath him
The Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis.- The fire department is devastated after two firefighters fell through the floor of a burning house to flames below, killing one and injuring another, the chief said Monday.
Arnie Wolff, 55, a 17-year veteran, became the first firefighter killed battling a fire in the city after he and his partner entered a burning house Sunday.
“It’s devastating. We’ve never experienced this before in Green Bay,” Fire Chief Jeff Stauber said Monday at a news conference. “We’re the people who are supposed to save, not lose. And we lost one of our own.”
Wolff, who was with the department since 1989, and his partner, Jo Brinkley-Chaudoir, entered the house, which had no occupants, at about noon Sunday.
“They followed their standard procedures to attack this fire,” Stauber said. “They took a line in ... and soon after entering, the building fell through the first floor into a basement that was filled with fire.”
Brinkley-Chaudoir, an 11-year-veteran, escaped through a basement window. She was treated for burns at a local hospital and released, Stauber said.
Investigators think the fire started in the basement but the cause has not been determined, Rod Pevytoe with the State Department of Criminal Investigation said Monday.
Rich Gee, a Green Bay firefighter and vice president of the firefighters union, said he knew Wolff very well.
“We’re a family and it hurts us a lot,” he said. “It’s a hard day for everyone involved.”
An autopsy was planned for Tuesday, said Brown County Medical Examiner Al Klimek.
Wolff is survived by his wife and three children.